Tebow should be productive under Meyer

HAYS CARLYONhays.carlyon@staugustinerecord.com

Published Wednesday, December 14, 2005

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TIM TEBOW signs a University of Florida football for a fan at Nease High School on Tuesday. Tebow announced during a live press conference his commitment to Florida. Tonight at 10, ESPN2 will feature a documentary on Tebow called 'Faces of Sports: Tim Tebow.' By JUSTIN YURKANIN, justin.yurkanin@staugustinerecord.com

St. Johns County is now Gator Country.

And the Gator Nation is officially on Tebow Time.

Urban Meyer got the biggest recruiting win of his early UF tenure on Tuesday when Nease blue-chip quarterback Tim Tebow committed to the Gators.

Tebow's announcement gives the Gators three county players who will be wearing the Orange & Blue next fall.

St. Augustine High stars Jacques Rickerson and Brandon James pledged to Meyer shortly after Florida's 34-7 thrashing of Florida State on Nov. 26.

As great as Rickerson and James are, the addition of Tebow is the jewel of what is shaping up to be one of the nation's top recruiting classes.

The recruiting Web site Rivals.com, which had UF's class rated No. 2 before landing Tebow, lists Tebow as a five-star prospect and the No. 12-rated player in the nation.

This was huge for Meyer, who couldn't afford to lose a player of Tebow's magnitude who grew up cheering for the Gators.

With starting quarterback Chris Leak having just one year remaining and backup Josh Portis transferring, the Gators had to have Tebow.

While Tebow has not signed a letter-of-intent, anyone who knows him realizes his pledge is as solid as they come.

Tebow will be a Gator, and he'll see the field sooner rather than later.

Tebow likely will enter next fall as Florida's No. 2 quarterback.

It's unlikely he'll redshirt, mainly because UF has nothing right now behind Leak.

Meyer moved Gavin Dickey to receiver this season and was planning on moving Florida's other young quarterback Cornelius Ingram to another position.

Translation: Leak will guide the Gators next season. In 2007, this will be Tebow's team. He'll only be a sophomore.

There's an outside chance that Leak could declare early for the NFL draft, but that would be a surprise.

Should that occur, Tebow could start as a true freshman.

That would not be welcome news for Florida or Tebow.

A year playing behind Leak would be a valuable experience.

Tebow will still play quite a bit. Meyer will have to give him considerable playing time next season in blowouts to get him ready to replace Leak the next year.

So how good will Tebow be?

I'm not going to pull a Beano Cook and predict two Heismans, ala Ron Powlus signing with Notre Dame, but there's a lot to like about Tebow's chances of suceeding.

He's a virtual lock to play early. He's a team-first player, which means he'll be a strong leader.

Physically, Tebow is more impressive than most quarterbacks in the Southeastern Conference right now, including Leak. His accuracy and vision downfield is at a high level.

Mentally, Tebow is strong as well. He mastered running the spread offense at Nease, so his only hiccup in adjusting to Meyer's scheme should be learning the terminology and adjusting to the speed.

Tebow's reckless running style is a concern.

He'll have to limit the number of times he decides to take on defenders when he scrambles.

Tim Tebow vs. SEC defensive backs. Advantage Tebow.

Tim Tebow vs. SEC linebackers. Advantage SEC.

He'll still be capable of picking up first downs with his legs and breaking tackles, but the days of busting 70-yard touchdown runs are likely over, at least against the SEC's tougher squads.

Plus, he's being groomed by Meyer.

This guy turned Alex Smith into the No. 1 pick in the draft.

The bottom line is that Tebow will be a playmaking threat from the day he steps on campus and the best talent Meyer has ever had to mold into an elite quarterback.